'It's still a lot of hurting': Survivors of former North Vancouver residential school return to the site
Survivors of a former North Vancouver residential school were among hundreds who gathered at the site for a pilgrimage Friday.
St. Paul’s Indian Residential School ran from 1899 to 1958, on what is now the parking lot of St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School.
For survivor Gloria Guss, her time at the school is still too painful to discuss.
"It's still a lot of hurting, it's kind of hard right now,” Guss said.
Guss and three of her sisters came to honour their father, Ernest “Boydie” Guss.
“He went to the residential school in Mission, him and his brother, until they both ran away,” Guss told CTV News.
For the family full of survivors, it’s been a tough road. Guss said the trauma she and her relatives experienced attending residential schools and day schools impacted future generations. "It was hard on all of our kids and grandkids,” Guss said.
Guss and her sisters then joined the large crowd to walk over eight kilometres to the Tseil-Waututh Nation.
It’s a walk survivor Stan Thomas made every Friday, when students were sent home for the weekend.
"I just remember not learning my language. It being a Roman Catholic school, I knew more Latin than our traditional language,” Thomas said.
His daughter Jennifer Thomas, who’s currently the Chief of the Tseil-Waututh Nation, says her father had never spoken about his time at St Paul’s until last year’s walk.
"Last year was a really good day for him,” she said.
"We don’t pressure him to talk about it with us but it has opened him up – the walk has made him feel supported.”
Her father described seeing so many strangers coming out to support him as “overwhelming.”
While their may be a long road to go on the path to reconciliation and healing, Stan Thomas is encouraged with what he’s seeing.
“I was out at White Spot last night and even the little school kids had orange shirts on early,” he said.
“Even that meant a lot, that they were teaching their young children about residential schools.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.